The truth behind the Nine-Tails incident and Uchiha Itachi's massacre of his clan—if they didn't stop things now, their hidden manipulations against the Uchiha would be gradually exposed.
Koharu Utatane couldn't allow that to happen. She even developed a murderous intent toward Kushina Uzumaki.
Betraying Konoha—no matter if she was the Fourth Hokage's wife—they would never let her go. Kushina was showing signs of aligning with the Uchiha, which could jeopardize the control over the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki.
Even if they didn't kill Kushina, they needed to separate her from Naruto and imprison her for an extended period.
"Take action!"
At Danzo's command, twenty elite ROOT operatives skilled in barrier techniques leaped toward Hyuga Mirai, preparing to trap him with a large-scale barrier.
This was one of Danzo's backup plans. He had four strategies prepared to annihilate the Uchiha clan.
"Prepare to engage—"
Uchiha Tekkō was about to command the police force, but a hand stopped him. Turning around, he saw a pair of vivid blue eyes.
"Let me handle this, Tekkō-san."
Hyuga Mirai smiled, a Truth-Seeking Ball floated to his hand, then transformed into radiant golden light.
"Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosion!"
He swung the golden light like a blade. As he extended his arm, the light lengthened as if reaching the ends of the heavens. Every ninja present felt one thing upon seeing it—fear.
A dazzling golden ray pierced the darkness. With a simple horizontal sweep, silence fell. Everything in its path turned to dust.
ROOT ninjas. The taller buildings of Konoha. The Hokage Rock.
Boom!
After the light vanished, the ground shook with a rumble from the distance. Looking back, they saw the Hokage Rock, kilometers away, sliced cleanly in half.
The Fourth Hokage's statue barely had a mouth left; the top part retained only a bit of a beard—before it crumbled away.
It wasn't just the Hokage Rock. The mountain wall behind Konoha had been sheared diagonally.
"What... what was that?"
A ninja from the Inuzuka clan mumbled.
Was that golden light responsible? What kind of power was that? And the ROOT ninjas who had jumped forward—were they all gone!?
"What happened?!"
What kind of jutsu could destroy the Hokage Rock from that far away, with such overwhelming force?
That fear hadn't left any of the ninja present. If that light had veered slightly, if they'd stood just a little higher, they'd have shared the ROOT ninjas' fate—if not worse.
In an instant, every Konoha ninja stared at Hyuga Mirai with dread and wariness. They could face enemies, even die for the village.
But could numbers really stand against absolute power?
"Took the trouble of gathering so many. Can you behave now?"
Hyuga Mirai chuckled. Most Konoha ninjas instinctively swallowed—he summoned another black sphere, transforming it into golden light once more.
That same golden glow extended into a short blade in his hand.
Everyone took a step back. They knew it was useless, but instinct told them to retreat. Who wouldn't shrink from a being that could kill them effortlessly?
The Hyuga clan showed mixed expressions. The branch members looked conflicted. Hiashi Hyuga clenched his fists tight. Why did a branch member possess such overwhelming power?
He rarely felt envy, but after witnessing Hyuga Mirai's strength today, Hiashi was filled with questions and doubt.
"Please continue, Tekkō-san."
With the others quiet, Hyuga Mirai nodded to Uchiha Tekkō.
Tekkō bowed gratefully. Moments ago, he had thought they'd need to sacrifice themselves to protect the clan, but then saw a power that changed everything.
Even with Susanoo, he wouldn't be confident blocking that attack. The Mangekyō Sharingan held no pride in front of Hyuga Mirai.
After explaining everything from the Nine-Tails incident to recent Uchiha suffering, some other clans began to feel sympathy.
Even if certain parts were questionable—like Hyuga Mirai seizing half the Nine-Tails—elders like Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane didn't dare bring it up. Kushina's stance alone made it clear it was futile.
"Our Uchiha clan has two demands. First: the Konoha leadership must declare Uchiha Itachi guilty of crimes and execute him. Second: allow our clan to leave the village. Konoha has long targeted us, and today tried to annihilate us. We no longer care for the prestige of being a founding clan."
Everyone present, whether elders or clan leaders, was shocked. If they accepted these demands and news spread, Konoha's reputation would be ruined.
Uchiha and Senju were the two clans that ended the Warring States era. Without reconciliation between Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha, ninja villages wouldn't exist today.
Konoha had cornered the Uchiha this far. The police force was down to a dozen members. Their strength now didn't even match a single Ino-Shika-Chō family.
"Absolutely not! Your clan has killed countless ANBU and ROOT…"
Shnk!
A golden beam pierced through Koharu Utatane, leaving a hole in her chest before continuing toward the rock wall behind the Hokage Rock.
Boom!
A massive explosion erupted, sending a blinding flash and shockwave hundreds of meters high. Even standing here, they felt its force clearly.
The scene reminded everyone of the Tailed Beast Bomb from the Nine-Tails' rampage years ago.
If that hit the village, Konoha would be gone.
"Koharu!?"
Homura Mitokado was enraged and terrified. Such destructive jutsu usually carried costs—but Hyuga Mirai had used it twice with no signs of weakness.
Using the black spheres on his back? Yet every time he used one, another formed. The technique was fast, its power even stronger than a Tailed Beast Bomb. No one had time to react before Koharu was killed.
Hyuga Mirai's message was clear: speak out, and die.
Another sphere floated into his hand and turned golden once more.
Everyone backed away further, knowing it was useless, but driven by fear. Even Danzo, Konoha's staunchest hawk, didn't dare move.
The reanimated Uchiha now understood the situation through Tekkō's explanation.
"My child… Tekkō, is my son okay?"
Tekkō looked down in silence. He had no answer. If he had insisted harder back then, perhaps Fugaku would've imprisoned Itachi.
"I'll kill him!"
The reanimated Uchiha mother tried to charge at Itachi, but Hyuga Mirai restrained her.
"You should ask the Konoha leadership to sentence him," Mirai said. "Itachi didn't just kill your family."
Filled with hatred, the reanimated Uchiha began shouting at Homura, pleading for justice. They had all lost loved ones to Itachi. If not for Mirai's control, they'd have torn him apart with their own hands.
Ordinary Uchiha civilians, now reanimated, begged the village to execute Itachi. An unbelievable scene.
"Danzo…"
Homura saw many clan leaders looking at him and turned toward Danzo.
But Danzo was afraid. Despite having one life and even Izanagi, he felt Mirai's piercing gaze constantly on him. He wouldn't risk becoming a "hero" now.
Koharu's corpse was still warm. Danzo lowered his head, pretending not to hear.
'I must uncover the secret behind Hyuga Mirai's eyes! If I had that power, I'd become Hokage and make Konoha invincible!'
"Everyone!"
Hyuga Mirai's voice snapped all the ninjas to attention. Some even drew their kunai.
"My time is short. Elder Homura, have you decided? Or do the slain Uchiha civilians no longer count as Konoha citizens?"
Homura backed up slightly at the growing golden blade in Mirai's hand.
"This… what Itachi did, indeed violated the ninja code…"
He glanced at Koharu's corpse, sighed deeply, and said:
"Forgive me, Koharu. I was forced into this."
"Uchiha Itachi violated the ninja code. Kakashi, execute him immediately."
"Yes."
The silver-haired ANBU moved toward Itachi.
Tekkō, the police force, and reanimated Uchiha cleared the way. Many clenched their fists, eyes filled with anticipation. The reanimated ones wept. They couldn't take revenge themselves, but this justice was enough.
Though severely injured, Itachi could still see and hear everything.
Had he been wrong?
Perhaps. His parents were dragged into it. The clan hated him. Even Konoha had abandoned him. For a moment, Itachi felt utterly alone. Maybe his ideal—to destroy the Uchiha and save the village—was a delusion.
As Kakashi approached, Itachi opened his eyes weakly and asked, "Is Sasuke… here?"
"Your brother? No, he's not here," Kakashi replied, sighing internally. A genius with such promise, reduced to this.
"That's… good."
With no will to live, Itachi accepted his fate. Kakashi wasted no time and ended Itachi's life swiftly.
He returned to the ANBU.
Some Uchiha wept with joy. Even the reanimated ones shed tears. Their enemies were dead. Their loved ones gone. There was no more reason to remain.
Two or three of them began to crumble into dust—they had found peace. Mirai had not bound their souls, so they returned to the Pure Land.
Mirai briefly explained this to Tekkō, then said, "Let's go now, Tekkō-san. I don't think anyone will stop you anymore."
Indeed, no one from Konoha dared to. Most feared Mirai's Golden Wheel technique—and the injustice the Uchiha had suffered.
As for Danzo, once again he cowered, terrified that Mirai might target him next. He wanted to live on and continue "serving" Konoha, so he stayed silent.
"Oh, one last thing before I leave. To the branch family—about my eyes."
Mirai turned to the Hyuga clan.
"You really are pitiful. The caged bird seal didn't just limit your status and freedom—it stunted the potential of your Byakugan!"
"The true Byakugan is the most powerful and promising in the shinobi world. But that no longer matters. Your generation is beyond saving."
(End of Chapter)